'RHOA' Alum NeNe Leakes Shares That Husband Gregg Leakes Has Passed Away at 66
Updated Sept. 1 2021, 4:37 p.m. ET
It goes without saying that any Real Housewives show is supposed to be filled with drama. But Season 11 of The Real Housewives of Atlanta had drama that no one ever wants to see. Fans were left heartbroken for NeNe Leakes when she shared that her husband had been diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer.
In late 2018, Gregg was told that he was cancer-free. However, his cancer returned, and NeNe recently revealed that Gregg has lost his battle with the disease.
NeNe Leakes shared that her husband Gregg has passed away from cancer.
Fans of RHOA have been holding out hope that Gregg's health would eventually take a turn for the better. Unfortunately, on Sept. 1, the Leakes family released a statement announcing Gregg's passing.
"Today the Leakes family is in deep pain with a broken heart. After a long battle with cancer, Gregg Leakes has passed away peacefully in his home surrounded by all of his children, very close loved ones, and wife Nene Leakes," the statement reads. "We ask that you pray for peace and strength over their family and allow them to mourn in private during this very, very difficult time."
Gregg was 66 at the time of his passing.
Prior to the family's statement, a video posted to It's OnSite on Aug. 29 revealed that Gregg was "transitioning to the other side." NeNe explained that her husband was "at home dying" after a brief verbal exchange about the 53-year-old not acknowledging a customer's birthday at the club she owns.
“My husband is transitioning to the other side,” NeNe shared with the customers. “You don’t know what we’re dealing with right now. We walked in this lounge because we had to walk in this lounge because this is our business. So, when people approach and say, ‘You’re rude because you don’t want to say happy birthday,’ — my husband is at home dying. I don’t want to say ‘Happy birthday,’ OK?”
NeNe continued, "So please, give us some respect and some love, OK? See, my son is right here hurting and I'm hurting. We walk in here because we have to walk in here. We have this business, but my husband is losing his life at this very moment."
NeNe Leakes initially shared that Gregg's cancer returned in June 2021.
In a June 28 interview with TheJasmineBRAND, NeNe shared that Gregg's cancer had returned and that he was in the hospital recovering. The site reported that Gregg underwent another surgery and was expected to be released from the hospital after 10 days.
"It's difficult," NeNe told the outlet. She also added the Gregg is "different."
"He's super small," NeNe said at the time. "If you've ever been around somebody who's had cancer before, he's different. He's different."
In May 2019, NeNe Leakes shared that Gregg's cancer had gone into complete remission.
The news of Gregg's passing is especially painful since he was told that he was cancer-free in 2018. Gregg underwent surgery in late 2018 and after performing imaging tests, doctors had found no evidence of cancer remaining.
Gregg ultimately decided, against his doctor's wishes, not to undergo chemotherapy following the surgery, saying, "If the cancer was more active, I would entertain chemo a lot quicker."
He remained cancer-free without the chemo, NeNe confirmed in an Instagram post in May 2019. The fight was not over yet, though, as Gregg had one final surgery scheduled in June 2019.
His last surgery was to take out his port, a small tube placed under a cancer patient's skin used to draw blood or give treatments. Considering his doctor was giving him the go-ahead to remove this important treatment device, it seemed safe to say that Gregg was doing better.
Unfortunately, that did not remain the case.
We would like to extend our best wishes to NeNe and the Leakes family.